140 likes | 163 Views
Marshall McLuhan: Biography (Life and Career). Kevin Shen. Marshall McLuhan.
E N D
Marshall McLuhan • Marshall McLuhan was a Canadian educator, philosopher, and a professor of English literature, a literary critic, a rhetorician, and a communication theorist. McLuhan's work is viewed as one of the cornerstones of the study of media theory.
Basic Information • “Marshall” was a family name • Both parents, Elsie Naomi and Herbert Ernest McLuhan were born in Canada • Has a younger brother, Maurice • Born on July 21, 1911, Edmonton, Albert • Dead on December 31, 1980 (aged 69), Toronto, Ontario
Childhood and Education • The McLuhan family moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 1915 where Marshall grew up • Enrolled in the University of Manitoba in 1928 • Earned a BA (1933) in Arts and Sciences and MA (1934) in English from the University of Manitoba.
Education (cont’d) • Marshall had long desired to pursue graduate studies in England and finally was accepted for enrollment at the University of Cambridge. • He received his bachelor's degree from Cambridge in 1936 and began graduate work.
Grad Studies • Marshall was influenced by New Criticism • Later, he returned from England to take a job as a teaching assistant at the University of Wisconsin–Madison • While studying at Cambridge, McLuhan converted to Roman Catholicism in 1937 • From 1937 to 1944 he taught English at Saint Louis University • Marshall was awarded a Ph.D. in December 1943
Marriage and Family • While in St. Louis, Marshall also met his future wife. On August 4, 1939, McLuhan married teacher and aspiring actress Corinne Lewis • They had six children: Eric, twins Mary and Teresa, Stephanie, Elizabeth and Michael • War had broken out in Europe while the McLuhans were in England, the McLuhans returned to Saint Louis University in 1940 where he continued teaching and they started a family.
Life in Canada • Returning to Canada, from 1944 to 1946 McLuhan taught at Assumption College in Windsor, Ontario • Moving to Toronto in 1946, McLuhan joined the faculty of St. Michael's College, a Catholic college of the University of Toronto • In the early 1950s, McLuhan began the Communication and Culture seminars, funded at the University of Toronto
Life in Canada (cont’d) • The University of Toronto created the Centre for Culture and Technology in 1963 in order to keep Marshall at the university • He published his first major work during this period: The Mechanical Bride (1951) was an examination of the effect of advertising on society and culture • He also produced an important journal, Explorations, with Edmund Carpenter, throughout the 1950s and they have been characterized as the Toronto School of communication theory
Life in Canada (cont’d) • McLuhan remained at the University of Toronto through 1979, spending much of this time as head of his Centre for Culture and Technology • McLuhan was diagnosed with a benign brain tumor in 1969; it was treated successfully. • He returned to Toronto where for the rest of his life, he worked at the University of Toronto and lived in Wychwood Park, a bucolic enclave on a hill overlooking the downtown
Life in Canada (cont’d) • In 1970, McLuhan was made a Companion of the Order of Canada • In 1975 the University of Dallas hosted him from April to May, appointing him the McDermott Chair
The Last Days of Life • In September 1979 he suffered a stroke, which affected his ability to speak • He never fully recovered from the stroke and died in his sleep on December 31, 1980
Major Works • The Mechanical Bride (1951) • The Gutenberg Galaxy (1962) • Understanding Media (1964) • The Medium is the Massage: An Inventory of Effects (1967) • War and Peace in the Global Village (1968) • From Cliché to Archetype (1970)
Works Cited • Gordon, Terrence. "Marshall McLuhan." The Official Site of Marshall McLuhan. Quiet PC, June 2002. Web. 17 Apr. 2010. <http://www.marshallmcluhan.com/gordon.html> • "Marshall McLuhan." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc, 16 Apr. 2010. Web. 17 Apr. 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshall_McLuhan>